| Green Building Design - What Is It And How Is It Accomplished? |
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While green building is becoming increasingly popular, it isn't something which many of us know how to accomplish. For instance, what qualifies a building as being green, and how are engineers and architects improving the state of the art to be more environmentally friendly? Here are some key aspects of green building, and how to accomplish them.
While green building is becoming increasingly popular, it isn't something which many of us know how to accomplish. For instance, what qualifies a building as being green, and how are engineers and architects improving the state of the art to be more environmentally friendly? Here are some key aspects of green building, and how to accomplish them. Energy efficiency is one of the biggest parts of going green. In order to be environmentally friendly, a building not only has to use sustainably produced, recyclable materials. It needs to not waste energy over the course of its existence. The bulk of a building's environmental load comes from the energy it uses, after all. Not everyone agrees on what makes a building energy efficient, however. That's why there needs to be more to a green building than just the label - you need to do your research to determine whether or not a building is truly environmentally friendly. For many kinds of buildings, energy performance can be rated on a scale of one to a hundred. This allows the buildings to be compared to similar ones. If a building rates more than seventy-five on this scale, it may qualify for the EPA's Energy Star rating, just like more familiar Energy Star rated appliances. Builders who would like to get this rating on buildings that are in the process of being built can use the EPA's Target Finder to establish a target for their project's energy performance. This Target Finder can also be used for building renovations meant to improve a structure's energy efficiency. All that needs to be done is for the designers to enter the estimated energy consumption to generate a performance rating on the system. Excellent examples of green design are eligible for special recognition by the EPA. Of course, if you're interested in green building, it's important to have an effective policy to create these structures. A good green building policy needs to use simple, standardized metrics for measuring energy use in every phase of the design, construction, and operation of the building. New buildings need to be designed to meet local energy codes, but shouldn't stop there. Instead, designers should try to get them to meet aggressive energy targets and be much more efficient. Evaluation during the process is also key. By checking on progress, designers create valuable feedback loops that help ensure green outcomes. Evaluations should ensure that the structure conserves water and energy, is using environmentally friendly materials and methods, and does so in a way that does not needlessly waste money over time. Green building is a complex area of study. To do so well and efficiently, it is essential to learn as much about the subject area as you can in order to make effective decisions with the greenest outcome. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. About the author: Jerry Dyess has been in the Commercial Energy business for the past 7 years and has published many articles on Business Electric news. |